Watching Baseball as We Age

by Aaron Sandberg

Where were we
.      when we began to see

most of these men
.      were half our age

and that any dream we had here
.      was mud-caked and attic-packed?

It’s all small ball now—
.      little victories, fundamentals.

Good knees. Pension plans.
.      Cold beer. Shaded stands.

A sacrifice bunt sets up
.      a suicide squeeze.

A body learns a lifetime
.      of committing toward the base,

of being waved again and again
.      toward home.

Winning is remembering
.      neither team escapes the fate

of swirling dust kicked up
.      from the slide into the plate

no matter how far they pull
.      their caps down over their eyes,

nor how the ump
.      will call the play.

 

Aaron Sandberg has appeared or is forthcoming in Asimov’s, No Contact, Alien Magazine, The Shore, The Offing, Sporklet, Burningword Journal and elsewhere. A multiple Pushcart and Best of the Net nominee, you can see him—and his poetry posts—on Instagram @aarondsandberg.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *